NXT TakeOver: Chicago II
NXT TakeOver: Chicago II a professional wrestling show in the NXT TakeOver series that took place on June 16, 2018, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. The event was produced by WWE for its NXT brand and streamed live on the WWE Network. Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Johnny Gargano in a Chicago Street Fight. On the undercard, Aleister Black defeated Lars Sullivan to retain the NXT Championship and Ricochet defeated Velveteen Dream. Storylines The card included five matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers. NXT TakeOver is a series of professional wrestling shows that began on May 29, 2014, as the WWE developmental league NXT held their second WWE Network exclusive live broadcast billed as NXT TakeOver. In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live specials. NXT TakeOver: Chicago was the twenty-first overall show held under the NXT TakeOver banner, and the third to be held in 2018. On the April 25 episode of NXT, Adam Cole defeated Oney Lorcan to retain the NXT North American Championship. After the match, The Undisputed Era attacked Lorcan. Danny Burch came out to help Lorcan, but was stopped by Cole. The following week, after Pete Dunne defeated Roderick Strong by disqualification, Lorcan and Burch saved Dunne from The Undisputed Era. On the May 16 episode of NXT, Dunne, Lorcan and Burch defeated The Undisputed Era in a six-man tag team match. The following week, a tag team match between The Undisputed Era and Lorcan and Burch for the NXT Tag Team Championship was scheduled for TakeOver: Chicago. On the May 30 episode of NXT, Lars Sullivan was revealed as Aleister Black's challenger for the NXT Championship. A match between the two for the title was scheduled for TakeOver: Chicago. At NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Johnny Gargano defeated Tommaso Ciampa in an unsanctioned match. On the April 25 episode of NXT, Gargano was scheduled to face Aleister Black for the NXT Championship, but Ciampa attacked Gargano to prevent the match from happening. On the May 16 episode, Gargano's wife Candice LeRae slapped Ciampa. The next week , Gargano called Ciampa out, which led to a brawl between the two in which Gargano was inadvertently knocked into his wife. The next week, a street fight between the two was scheduled for TakeOver: Chicago. At NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Ricochet and Velveteen Dream both unsuccessfully competed in a ladder match to crown the first NXT North American Champion. On the May 9 episode of NXT, Velveteen Dream confronted Ricochet. A match between the two was scheduled for the following week, but the match ended in a no contest when Lars Sullivan attacked both wrestlers. On the May 23 episode of NXT, Sullivan defeated both men in a handicap match after Dream walked out on Ricochet. On the May 30 episode of NXT, a match between the two was scheduled for TakeOver: Chicago. On the May 30 episode of NXT, after Shayna Baszler defeated Dakota Kai to retain the NXT Women's Championship, Baszler continued to attack Kai. Nikki Cross came out and made the save. Afterwards, Cross ran out with the title. The following week, Cross and Baszler confronted each, leading to a match between the two for the title at TakeOver: Chicago. It was also announced that former Indianapolis Colts punter and current Barstool Sports personality Pat McAfee would join the pre-show panel Results Category:NXT TakeOver series Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2018 Pay-Per-View Events